Object Storage vs Block Storage

Block storage is the oldest and simplest form of data storage. Block storage stores data in fixed-sized ‘blocks’. By itself, a block typically only houses a portion of the data. The application makes SCSI calls to find the correct address of the blocks, then organizes them to form the complete file. Because the data is blocks the address is the only identifying part of a block — there is no metadata associated with blocks.

This structure leads to faster performance when the application and storage are local, but can lead to more latency when they are farther apart. The granular control that block storage offers makes it an ideal fit for applications that require high performance, such as transactional or database applications.

Object storage /object-based storage is a general term that refers to the way in which we organize and work with units of storage, called objects. Every object contains three things:

• The data itself.  Any form of data Objects aren’t always directly mappable to files. They may be sub files (a portion of a file), or simply a collection of bits and bytes related to other and not part of any file.
• An expandable amount of metadata. The metadata is defined by whoever creates the object storage; it contains detailed information about what the data is, what it should be used for, its confidentiality, or anything else that is relevant to the way in which the data is used.
• A globally unique identifier. The identifier is a 128-bit unique value given to the object in order for the object to be found over a distributed system. This way, it’s possible to find the data without having to know the physical location of the data.